I've had my eye on this for a while. While I wouldn't consider it a major release, in many ways it's the game I've been wanting to play on my iPad pretty much since day one. Essentially it's a simplified version of HOMM with an art style similar to Battleheart. You move your character on the main map and build up your levels and army. When you level you can choose to upgrade a particular stat. The only resource is gold, and it can be used to purchase units or items for your leader. Unit types are pretty traditional fantasy, and there don't seem to be a big variety, but the art/animation is very endearing in its simplicity.

There have been a ton of SRPGs for iOS over the years, even including a direct clone of HOMM, but I haven't really been happy with any of them. So far this one seems to be fitting the bill in a way others haven't; it's simple and streamlined and the touch interface feels very effective. Some may argue that it's too dumbed down, but for me, that's why it works well on the tablet, where I often can only play a couple of minutes and/or don't remember where I left off, or I just want a more relaxed gaming experience. Battles use a hex-based grid similar to HOMM, and that's also something I've been wanting.

I don't think the game would be as effective on the PC but apparently its available on Steam as well. I suppose for $3.99 it's probably still worth trying out if you don't play on mobile. Otherwise, at $2.99, it was a no-brainer for me. Not sure at this point how long the game is or what the replayability is like.

Seems interesting. I'll probably download it, as I just got an iPad and I'm looking for some good games. I pretty much only plays iOS games anymore. My biggest concern is that some are saying bravelands is light on strategy.

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Seems interesting. I'll probably download it, as I just got an iPad and I'm looking for some good games. I pretty much only plays iOS games anymore. My biggest concern is that some are saying bravelands is light on strategy.

I'm playing it in normal mode and the battles are pretty similar to what I've experienced in other similar games. There's been one I got completely creamed in, so I've been moving around elsewhere trying to build up before I go back. If you are talking about the overland map, that is definitely simplified quite a bit. There are no resources to collect or need to leave troops to defend spots, etc. Essentially every spot is either a fight or a one-time boost or a store. Once you get a little further along in the game, there are a few more divergent branches to go along but nothing like exploring a real HOMM map.

So hardcore gamers looking for a deep strategic experience will likely be disappointed. If you are happy with a more casual experience focused on the tactical battles, though, you will probably enjoy it. Everything is much more streamlined; one of my favorite features is that after a fight, any units you lost are replenished - but with a corresponding gold cost. So effectively this removes the need to go back to a spot to re-buy troops but you are still motivated to lose the least amount of troops since you'll have your gold reward instantly reduced in a direct proportion to the amount of units that you lost. If you die/lose a fight, instead of making you start over, you are just sent back and are actually given a bit of pittance cash to help you along. Again, hardcore gamers may find these features unappealing.

I bought it last night and played for about an hour. It's pretty good and does a decent job ramping up the difficulty so that you can learn via trial and error, but outside of special attacks it doesn't really explain much. I kind of wish there was a text box to explain exactly how the hourglass and shield buttons work. I assume the hourglass is the wait option and the shield provides a boost to defense, but it would be nice to know for sure. The graphics are wonderful though. So far I'm happy with the purchase and having fun.

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I bought it last night and played for about an hour. It's pretty good and does a decent job ramping up the difficulty so that you can learn via trial and error, but outside of special attacks it doesn't really explain much. I kind of wish there was a text box to explain exactly how the hourglass and shield buttons work. I assume the hourglass is the wait option and the shield provides a boost to defense, but it would be nice to know for sure. The graphics are wonderful though. So far I'm happy with the purchase and having fun.

Cool! I'm definitely having fun with it too, but I'm only playing in small 10-15 minute chunks so it feels satisfying over a longer period of time. Clearly it doesn't have the depth of a real HOMM game.

Yes the hourglass is Wait (looks like your turn gets moved to the very end of the cycle). The shield, like you, I assume is just a defend option when you can't do anything else but still have movement points left.

I bought it last night and played for about an hour. It's pretty good and does a decent job ramping up the difficulty so that you can learn via trial and error, but outside of special attacks it doesn't really explain much. I kind of wish there was a text box to explain exactly how the hourglass and shield buttons work.

Oh yeah I noticed yesterday there's a big green ? in the upper left corner of the screen. Just click on it and move to the icon you want explanation on; Defense stance apparently adds 30%